Police officers had to intervene during a Sunday afternoon town hall hosted by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), after a fight broke out between her backers and supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The town hall was held at Mike Ward Community Park in Irvine, and was Porter's first in-person town hall in over a year. Porter has three children, and said she made sure this was a family-friendly event because she knows how hard it can be to get child care. At the start of the town hall, Porter thanked everyone for "coming out to express your opinion," and said because there was a lot of wind, "I'm going to ask that everyone, regardless of your views, try to keep your voices down and be quiet so we can have a conversation."
As she spoke, a handful of Trump supporters began loudly interrupting her, the Los Angeles Times reports, shouting and calling her "Corrupt Katie Porter" and "Carpetbagger Katie." In response, there were chants of "Katie! Katie! Katie!" When several of the Porter supporters walked over to the protesters and confronted them, it sparked a fight, and punches were thrown, the Times reports. Porter ran over and put her arms around an elderly woman who was close to the scuffle, and officers from the Irvine Police Department quickly separated both sides. One Porter supporter was arrested and released on citation, Sgt. Karie Davies told the Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a statement, Porter said that everyone was welcome to ask her questions, and it is "disappointing that a small but vocal group of attendees, who advertised a 'confrontation rally,' created unsafe conditions at a planned family-friendly event. While I absolutely respect their right to disagree, their disturbance disrespected all the families who attended and were ready to engage in a thoughtful, civil, and safe way." Porter's team is "evaluating next steps," she added, but her "promise to Orange County families is that I will continue to hold town halls and to be in conversation with them."
On Thursday, a man named Nick Taurus, who said he will run against Porter in 2022, posted on Instagram that people should go to the town hall with him to "CONFRONT KATIE PORTER!" the Times reports. Porter is the first Democrat to represent her district, and Taurus claimed she is "a far-left ideologue supported by Bay Area academics" whose policies are "awful...and we intend to voice our displeasure." The Times said Taurus was involved in the melee; he turned down the newspaper's request for comment.
-
Political cartoons for December 13Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include saving healthcare, the affordability crisis, and more
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
